Evacuation order issued for Outer Banks ahead of Hurricane Florence

OUTER BANKS, NC (WWBT) - Dare County in North Carolina has issued a mandatory evacuation order for the Outer Banks.

The evacuation order for all Hatteras Island residents and visitors begins Monday at 12 p.m. This includes all areas of Hatteras Island including the villages of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras Village.

Mandatory evacuations for residents and visitors in other areas of Dare County goes into effect beginning Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. This includes the towns of Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, Manteo, Roanoke Island and the Dare County mainland.

With the evacuation order in place, this means that no one can travel to these areas.

Dare County officials encourage all residents and visitors to leave as soon as possible, and to take all belongings and to follow the directions of their property management company.

The suggested route for evacuation is to head westbound on Highway 64 to Interstate 95. Officials say evacuating through the rural parts behind Dare County will help with traffic congestion.

The State of Emergency also includes that no one goes into the water due to strong currents.